Alexa should react to short, weird sounds like glottal stops
I think it's silly to speak in full sentences to home assistants, when I really just use 5 commands most of the time.
It would be snappier to make weird sounds, produced by snapping ones tongue e.g., like some African tribes use in their languages.
Or any other weird, short sounds.
It might be more satisfying to use, and probably funnier.
Also, over the course of a few years this might find its way into everyday spoken language. Which would be wonderfully dystopian and maybe funny.
18 replies
Other people: Hmm I only use a few commands on this thing, I wonder if I can just refer to them by number or something?
You: Googling African tongue-snapping languages
Me: loud, wet fart
Alexa: Playing "Beatles Radio" for 10 hours
Instead we ask Alexa to play the Beatles and she starts the fart simulator.
They are the same picture.
I love how when you put an idea out in the world, someone will surprise you and just make it ten times better than you could have ever imagined
I also dislike the Beatles
Overplayed and over hyped, hearing their music frequently reminds me of their fans who gush about how so very significant and genius everything they ever did was. Their fandom drags down their music for me, and their music is just OK without all the social context of when it was made.
There are quite a few things I enjoy in music, literature, and hobbies where a significant portion of the people who also like it are unbearable by making it part of their personality instead of something they enjoy. Anyone who identifies as a fan of something instead of saying they enjoy something is likely to be unbearable about that thing.
I enjoy some Dylan songs because of the melody since the words are gibberish to me.
A glottal stop is when your glottis stops airflow, not clicks. The airflow pause in "uh-oh" is an example.
Anyway, have you tried using fewer words for those commands? Even if you got a tongue click setup for a timer, you'd still need to say how long
Keep in mind you can't even choose any wake word. I was ecstatic when ziggy became an option as most others come up on tv shows or commercials but I would love to hame it anything I wanted.
I believe the wake word is processed locally, and that’s much harder to change within the constraints of the device.
Something something clap on clap off.
The Clapper 👏👏
As others have observed, a glottal stop on its own is completely silent. But the idea of responding to distinct weird sounds is awesome! I'd like to be able to whistle commands like Alexa is well trained sheepdog!
Haha man I'd love that
Alright everybody, thanks for teaching me what a glottal stop really is, you were surprisingly polite and nice about it! :) I did not do enough research in the shower, but together we can shine.
They're called click consonants
English guy: "would you get my water bottle"?
Alexa: [boop]